That Wasn't an Earthquake!
By Jeff Moffitt
@moffittjc (128824)
Gainesville, Florida
July 19, 2016 1:36pm CST
The other day I wrote a post about a rare earthquake off the east coast of Florida. Well, it turns out that the US Navy has come forward and said that the seismic activity was not the result of an earthquake, but the result of a large explosion they conducted offshore!
Turns out the Navy is testing how their new class of warships can withstand shockwaves from underwater explosions, and so to test the integrity of their latest new ship, they detonated a 10,000-lb bomb just under the surface of the water! Apparently, the explosion was so massive that it triggered seismic activity!
Reminds me of when the Air Force detonates their largest ordinance, a bomb they call the "Mother of all Bombs" (MOAB) up in the panhandle of Florida. When the MOAB is detonated, people from hundreds of miles around can feel the shaking and window rattling from the explosion!
Have you ever experienced a strange or unexplained phenomenon in which the military later claimed credit for?
11 people like this
11 responses
@moffittjc (128824)
• Gainesville, Florida
20 Jul 16
@just4him Isn't there an island off the coast of San Diego that the Navy uses for bombing practice or something like that?
3 people like this
@moffittjc (128824)
• Gainesville, Florida
19 Jul 16
Hmmm...I would have thought for sure there would be all kinds of Navy testing there! But maybe it was too risky considering the population density of the area.
2 people like this
@just4him (323168)
• Green Bay, Wisconsin
19 Jul 16
@moffittjc I think they did their testing further inland in the desert. The Navy airmen that is.
2 people like this
@ElizabethWallace (12069)
• United States
20 Jul 16
No kidding. Jokes on all of us then. We have the opposite experience in California. They test and practice all the time around here, then lie about it. The houses shake, your ears hurt, but they claim they did nothing. Right. Just don't go picnic around Camp Pendleton or on the "Hill".
2 people like this
@moffittjc (128824)
• Gainesville, Florida
20 Jul 16
have to admit, the Navy seems to be more open about their military exercises here in Florida, although they will never announce in advance what they are doing for purposes of national security. But they usually will fess up afterward when people start talking about the strange events or noises. About the only thing they don't ever admit to is when people start making UFO claims. The military always denies involvement in those activities/sightings.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (128824)
• Gainesville, Florida
20 Jul 16
@ElizabethWallace That's because it's too damn expensive in California! LOL
1 person likes this
@ElizabethWallace (12069)
• United States
20 Jul 16
@moffittjc Not here. It's lie and deny all the way. Guess they don't want to pay for the damage.
1 person likes this
@akalinus (44366)
• United States
21 Jul 16
@moffittjc I know. I never know who to believe these days.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (128824)
• Gainesville, Florida
22 Jul 16
@akalinus Well, don't believe the government, that's for sure! I don't believe anything that is spewed out of their mouths!
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (128824)
• Gainesville, Florida
21 Jul 16
Yeah, that sounds like a pretty lame excuse for the Phoenix lights! And weren't those lights all moving in unison as well? Last time I checked, flares couldn't do that!
1 person likes this
@JamesHxstatic (29410)
• Eugene, Oregon
25 Jul 16
I have not, but I wonder how much damage was done to the undersea creatures?
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (128824)
• Gainesville, Florida
25 Jul 16
The Navy has gotten a bad rap over the years for the toll their military exercises have been taking on marine life.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (128824)
• Gainesville, Florida
26 Jul 16
@JamesHxstatic I guess the question is...can there be a way to safely train for war without harming the environment or the animals?
1 person likes this
@JamesHxstatic (29410)
• Eugene, Oregon
25 Jul 16
@moffittjc Yes, with good reason too.
1 person likes this
@HazySue (39265)
• Gouverneur, New York
19 Jul 16
@moffittjc I haven't experienced one but have heard others reported that they have. Other than you.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (128824)
• Gainesville, Florida
19 Jul 16
We also get a lot of announced and unexpected sonic booms over north central Florida, because the Navy test fires Tomahawk cruise missiles, which they launch from ships in the Atlantic Ocean, and the missiles cruise over the state to reach their targets in the Gulf of Mexico. The missiles flying over the state cause sonic booms since they are traveling faster than the speed of sound. We used to have the same thing happen when the Space Shuttle would land in Florida after it returned from space.
1 person likes this
@HazySue (39265)
• Gouverneur, New York
20 Jul 16
@moffittjc we hear a sonic boom every now and again here in Central Florida.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (128824)
• Gainesville, Florida
20 Jul 16
@HazySue Is it from the rockets they launch at the Cape? I wouldn't think you would be able to hear the sonic booms from the Tomahawk cruise missiles the Navy launches over north Florida, but I could be wrong. Who knows how far sonic booms travel! Just south of the Orlando area is the Avon Park bombing range, where the Air Force F-15's and F-16's practice. Those fighter jets can easily break the sound barrier, although they are not supposed to while flying over populated areas. But who knows what those flyboys do when they are doing their hotshot maneuvers up in the air!
@supervalon (1208)
• North Las Vegas, Nevada
19 Jul 16
Wow, nice testing military experiments. But it could pollute the air even more. By the way there's an upgraded version, even better of the MOAB. It's called FOAB (Father of All Bombs). I think Russians have it.
By the way, No. I haven't experienced such things because if they experiment things like that in my state, the whole city'd be gone lol 
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (128824)
• Gainesville, Florida
19 Jul 16
Wow, I just looked it up! You are correct that the Russians have the FOAB, which they claim is four times more powerful than our MOAB! I'm willing to bet the US military is probably scrambling to come up with something even bigger!
2 people like this
@moffittjc (128824)
• Gainesville, Florida
19 Jul 16
@supervalon I guess they would cause a lot of destruction, considering they were originally designed to take the place of nukes. So I think the intent is to cause almost as much destruction, without all the radiation.
2 people like this
@supervalon (1208)
• North Las Vegas, Nevada
19 Jul 16
Yeah, i share the same opinion. Whatever they are testing, it must be something big. By the way i'm curious what would be the consequences if a FOAB explodes in a high-traffic city.. It says that a FOAB is equivalent to 44 tons of TNT
1 person likes this
@garymarsh6 (23979)
• United Kingdom
19 Jul 16
No but we used to hear the sonic boom every time Concorde took off. That was a fantastic little plane noisy but fast.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (128824)
• Gainesville, Florida
19 Jul 16
We get sonic booms all the time here in north Florida from Tomahawk missiles that the Navy test fires over the state. They'll launch them from ships off the east coast of the state, and the missiles will fly to their targets on the west coast of the state.
1 person likes this
@JESSY3236 (22199)
• United States
20 Jul 16
That's funny and scary. I hope they don't do anymore because it could cause damage.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (128824)
• Gainesville, Florida
20 Jul 16
I was thinking about how detrimental that could be to any marine animals in the area. I hope they checked the area for migrating whales, dolphins, sharks or other marine life!
@JudyEv (381802)
• Rockingham, Australia
20 Jul 16
I only hope they didn't sink their flash new warship!
@moffittjc (128824)
• Gainesville, Florida
20 Jul 16
The explosion was far enough away from the ship as to not cause physical damage. What they were testing for was to see how their electronic equipment aboard the ship would hold up against shock waves and electromagnetic pulses.
1 person likes this
@VivaLaDani13 (60812)
• Perth, Australia
2 Oct 16
@moffittjc Crap! Well there ya go!
I can't say I've ever experienced anything like that before.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (128824)
• Gainesville, Florida
2 Oct 16
And hopefully you won't ever have to experience anything like that!
1 person likes this
